Domestic Violence: A Widespread Societal and Public Health Issue

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Introduction Domestic violence and abuse takes place within family-type intimate relationships and forms a pattern of intimidating and controlling behaviors, which overtime escalates (Dennis, T. 2014, p 1). It can also cause physical psychological or sexual harm to these relations as well (Gul & Faiz, 2013). Domestic Violence according to Fairtlough (2006) is “the misuse of power and the exercise of control by one individual over another, generally by men over women, with whom they have been in an intimate relationship. It assumes a wide range of abusive physical, sexual, and psychological behaviors.” Dennis argued that domestic violence has become a serious societal and public health issue and is a major risk factor for psychiatric disorders …show more content…

The research describes four patterns of violence those are Coercive Controlling Violence, Violent Resistance, Situational, Couple Violence, and Separation-Instigated Violence. Kelly and Johnson (2008) explained that Coercive Controlling uses control tactics such as intimidation, emotional abuse, isolation, minimizing, denying, and blaming, use of children, asserting male privilege, economic abuse, and coercion and threat, it is a non violent tactic that does not manifest itself in high levels of violence. This type of intimate partner violence is the most common type that is encountered in agencies. Violent resistance is a defensive mechanism that is legally known as self-defense. Women who are abused with Coercive Controlling Violence usually will resist it with their own violence (Kelly & Johnson, 2008, p.484). Situational couple violence is similar to the emotional abuse in coercive controlling violence. In the general population of married spouses and partners, situational couple violence is the most common type of physical aggression, which generally results from arguments that escalates into physical violence. In this type of domestic violence either one or both partners has a poor …show more content…

Their study utilized data from a “Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study”, their study found that “thirty –five percent of the 2 to 4 year olds had mothers who reported DV victimization; 16% reported an increase in DV victimization over 2 years” (Schnurr, M. P., & Lohman, B. J., 2013, p. 1016). In opposition of past literature, domestic violence exposure in early childhood did not influence the outcomes of middle childhood in a significant way, but their internalized and externalized problems and school engagement were significantly increased when the mother’s domestic violence victimization increased (Schnurr, M. P., & Lohman, B. J.,

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